The fact that DJ Justin Sheppard is the son of a drifter makes sense when you consider the smooth, supple soulfulness he brings to his spinning. That he’s also got a degree in computer science, however, might not make as much sense, especially when you consider just how dizzying he…
Local producer and PL0T resident DJ Alejandro Sab a.k.a. Sabox was a staple of the burgeoning downtown minimal scene in 2008. For those of you who missed out last year, here’s a killer mix encapsulating some of the sexy stripped-down funk sound patrons heard at White Room Fridays and other…
You’re going to die. But c’mon, have a martini. What better way to celebrate your own withering mortality than by having a lot of expensive drinks and going home with a stranger? That’s pretty much the motto at YOLO (You Only Live Once), a nightclub and restaurant located on Las…
“It’s like comparing the different women you’ve fallen in love with,” muses journeyman singer/songwriter Alejandro Escovedo. “Some end up well, some not so well, you know?” But Escovedo isn’t talking about romance, per se — rather, he’s ruminating over the bands he’s played in, a theme that recurs throughout his…
James DunnThe Long Ride Homewww.jamesdunnmusic.comEven the title boasts an air of familiarity, one that translates to the sound of the songs themselves. It breeds a connection that finds these muscular melodies recalling the angst-filled anthems of Bruce Springsteen as they might sound if sung by Jackson Browne. Indeed, there’s a…
It’s often the complaint of many that South Beach has become stale, particularly its DJs, who seem completely content with spinning the usual Top 40/hip-hop mess that really is no different than you just turning on your car’s stereo. But if there is one DJ that is try to walk…
Anybody who’s ever heard a track by Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers knows the deep power of go-go, that mighty blend of pure funk and raw soul that could only come from the streets of D.C. It’s a heady mix of down-low and way-up-on-high that brings to mind nothing…
Mr. Pupp “Da Quarter Million Dollar Man” and 21 Reese from Palm Beach have a message to any female that would dare bust the window out their cars. Here go the video and lyrics to their remix of Jazmine Sullivan’s smash hit as well as I could transcribe them…….
Some people,” laughs Galactic bassist Robert Mercurio, “think we’re just a bunch of college kids playing old New Orleans music.” That may have been so at one point. But the funk-based, mostly instrumental quintet has garnered plenty of respect over its nearly 15-year existence. Thanks to crossover success with younger…
Even if you have spent only a couple of nights out on the local music scene, your ears have likely taken in the smooth sounds of Buffalo Brown’s guitar playing. He is one of Miami’s most sought-after ax men, in a typical night traveling across town from gig to gig…
Where can you see a violent, wheelchair bound assailant striking out against street musicians playing dirty south drum beats? Downtown Miami, mothafucker. That’s right, a YouTube user identifying him- or herself only as guaromiami recently posted a teaser of the incident. They’re selling the full version in hard copy for…
Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter still looms in the margins of jazz history. Until now, her contributions during the Fifties, Sixties, and Seventies were known mostly to insiders, aficionados, historians, and journalists eager to sensationalize her association with the death of Charlie Parker, who famously died in her living room in…
The last thing the world needs is another rant by some snooty music scribe who actually believes he can peg the next Coldplay or validate some MySpace wannabe. Don’t worry; yours truly doesn’t make any such presumptions. You won’t find any holier-than-thou prognostications here — just good new sounds worth…
Churchill’s at nightPhoto by Tony VargasLongtime Churchill’s Pub manager/booker/in-house promoter, Michael Toms, made his exit from the venerable Miami institution this past January 1. Churchill’s marks its 30th anniversary as a mainstay of the Miami music scene in 2009, and owner Dave Daniels will be taking over the lion’s share…
Few local DJs in any genre have such a scarily deep and broad knowledge of music as Alex Caso. Able to wax poetic on and dig deep into any genre from psychedelic garage nuggets, to Jamaican rocksteady, to robotic electro, Caso’s consequently spun everywhere from straight-up raves to hipster hotspots…
One gets the impression that if there were eight days in a week, DJ Affect would be spinning each and every one of ’em. Hell, it’s a bet he’d be spinning every day of the week if there were 10 or 12 or 20 — that’s how driven the cat…
The party’s over.They finally figured it out. After 24 months, New Times realized that it has been paying me to party hard with music celebrities. They’ve been shelling out cash for me to dance at night clubs, to hang out at rock concerts, and to simply dive in and write…
VIBE Music Editor Sean Fennessey recently argued that contemporary R&B music has gone soft. He’s onto something — there are too many emasculated, blue-balled crooners on the radio right now with no true identity. (Hell, whispering whiner/platinum sensation Lloyd’s last name is Polite.) But Fennessey overlooked a larger point. R&B…
Anyone who knows me knows that I’m more likely to go to a bar to whine than go to a wine bar. Most of my time is spent at dives bantering with blue-collar types, sipping on dirt-cheap brews. But sometimes even I like to chill somewhere classy and upscale, a…
1. CarcassNecroticism (Earache)Arguably grindcore’s finest hour, Necroticism captures Carcass hitting previously unheard-of heights of technical proficiency with such jaw-dropping skill that the album sounds absolutely fresh 16 years after it came out. Rarely has a grind band achieved the thrilling, epic majesty of classical music, but Carcass took the cake…
Boris(Photo via Boris’ MySpace page.)Was 2008 another renaissance year for metal? Well, yes — but the point should be moot by now. Whether metal is “in” or “out” during any given year, the music has gone through a creative revitalization every year — especially when you consider heavy music and…
UltrachicUltrachic (Self-released)www.myspace.com/ultrachicUltrachic stand on a weird crossroad bridge where they sonically span the golden years of Venezuelan rock (Sentimiento Muerto, Dermis Tatu, Desorden Público) with the newer bloods who continue to make the racket (Zapato 3, Los Amigos Invisibles, Caramelos de Cianuro). The funny thing is, Ultrachic bass player Luis…
